


Leaves under our feet

by KawaiiPickle



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 19:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8298214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiPickle/pseuds/KawaiiPickle
Summary: Changmin goes on a break and realizes the fall has come and it makes him feel nostalgic.  There's only one solution for it - deep house cleaning.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Fluff? With a little bit of angst? Maybe? I don't know? OTL 
> 
> But the fall really makes me nostalgic and then I've heard about both Yunho and Changmin on a break lately, so this fic happened...
> 
>  
> 
> Big ❤️❤️ for powerfulsmiles for being my beta❤️
> 
> Comments are love!!

Changmin goes on his next break without any special plans for it. He only has a weekend off, starting on Friday in the early afternoon, and he leaves the base with nothing particular on his mind.

The first thing that hits him as he heads towards the metro station, is that fall took over Seoul at some point between his schedules. He doesn't know how he could have missed this, but suddenly the leaves on the trees are red and yellow and the air smells of smoke, wet soil and rain. People around him are wrapped in sweaters and scarves; many are holding steaming cups with hot drinks. The air is still warm but he can feel the chill in the wind as he walks slowly through the city. This is a subtle preview of the snow and frost that will come in a few weeks.

Fallen leaves crunch under his shoes and his thoughts slowly wander, going back to the last fall, last year's autumn, the one he had a chance to also see in Japan. He recalls one of his last flights to Tokyo, just him with a bodyguard and a manager, nothing urgent, nothing on their schedule. All his band duties were done, solo too; all he had to do was to clean their Japanese house before their break.  
Somehow one scene got stuck in his memory, so insignificant really, but he could still see that scene so clearly. He was standing on the driveway to their house, all alone, everyone else inside the house, busy with packing their stuff. The sun was setting, painting the sky with red and orange stripes, and the whole driveway was covered with red maple leaves. It looked like a mosaic, so nostalgic and beautiful and all Changmin could think was that Yunho would love it, if he were there. Except he would not see the setting sun because he would get up extra early in the morning just to rake all fallen leafs, probably, because he was extra like that. Then he would be sleepy and groggy for the whole day, annoying the shit out of Changmin.  
But right now Yuhno was painfully not there and Changmin felt like the wet leaves on the ground were mocking him.

Now, a year later, someone else is taking care of the fallen leaves on their Japanese driveway and Changmin feels almost jealous about it. He feels silly then and finally looks up from the sidewalk when he reaches the metro station. The crowd gets bigger but no one seems to recognize him; and he's so glad about it, he's not really in the mood to deal with overexcited fans. With a confused heart he gets onto the train.

The day drags.

Changmin gets home, but leaves it after quick shower and clothing change. Somehow he doesn't feel like sitting at home; even his online games are not tempting enough to keep him there. He feels restless, but he's not sure why. He goes to the gym to sweat his tangled emotions away, then visits his parents, sets a Kyuline-date for the next evening, calls some friends in Japan. Nothing helps him though. 'I should be somewhere else' goes through his mind every now and then, confusing him even more.

He thinks about sending a message to Yunho, even types the first line, but deletes it without finishing it. He stares blindly on his phone for a long moment, to only realize that he's in fact scared.  
He wants to see Yunho, craves for it. It's hasn't been that long since they've met, he knows that, to feel so desperate for it. But this fall in the air, the aura and smell of time passing and summer fading away, the fact that this part of the year was always the moment when they were starting their new schedules together - it makes him nostalgic. Makes him feel needy and greedy for something constant, thrown back to the first moths without Yunho when he felt so lost.

The thing is, he doesn't know when Yunho has a break. Their schedules can change with every passing week or even day, they don't always have phones near by, they don’t always know when the other’s leave is. It's fine, they don't need to be in touch all the time, they never worked like that. The time in the army flies fast but its boring. A week can pass without any significance, so there's no need for them to update each other every day. They call whenever they can and feel like it, send messages when something happens, even if the message gets no reply, because the other one has no phone at the moment.

But today Changmin think he could not bear sending a message and getting nothing back. He doesn't know if Yunho is on his leave or not, and right now he doesn't want to know.  
What is more – he doesn't want to know that he's not. 

So he does what he always does when he's restless and needs to think in peace – he drives. Gets in his car and drives around Seoul and the cities around it, without any actual destination or purpose; just following the wet road and randomly picked locations.  
But when it finally gets dark and the whole city shimmers with traffic lights he finds himself in front of Yunho's apartment. He has enough decency to not pretend he's surprised by that. But Yunho's windows are dark and Changmin leaves his car trying not to think how disappointed he feels by that.

When they meet, they always meet in Changmin's house. It's not something they've decided to do beforehand, it just happened. His flat is just closer to their bases, somehow it's always more 'en route', and he has always more food stocked in his fridge.  
Only now, thinking about it while standing in dark hallway Changmin realizes he hasn’t been in Yunho's house since enlistment.

He goes through the hallway, living room and kitchen, turning on the lights everywhere, seeing this familiar place like he has never seen it before. And somehow it feels like it, because he can't remember the last time he saw this place so neat. They both have cleaning ladies coming when they are away to keep their houses clean, but this place looks now more like a pic from a furniture magazine than place where Jung Yunho lives. No dust on any table or shelf, not a single wrinkle on any pillow or curtain, nothing personal on display and for a second Changmin feels like an intruder. 

Until he reaches Yunho's bedroom.

This is the only place cleaning people are not allowed in, and it's very obvious from the very first second. There are clothes thrown everywhere, over the bed and two chairs. Some partially unpacked luggage still lies on the floor, blocking the way. The desk is covered with papers, notebooks and random stuff, along with a couple of books.

Changmin groans a little at the visible dust balls all over the floor, but the overall mess calms his nerves in the most twisted way.

This is familiar, this is Yunho.

The room smells like Yunho too; the smell of his favorite cologne, the laundry detergent Changmin buys him, the funny aroma sachets he likes to keep in his closet and the unique musky smell of Yunho's body, all of it mixed in this place.   
It makes him feel at home.

So, with a happy sigh, he starts to clean. 

Getting the suitcase of the way of the door, he unpacks it, going through all the clothes bundled there with the pang of nostalgia since he knows every single one of them, and a little annoyance, when he recognizes a few as his own. He folds all the clothes neatly and puts them into the over packed closet, tempted for a second to steal the red leopard print sweater for himself, but he's fully aware all their fans know this piece too well.  
It’s not like the fact that they wear each others clothes is a secret anyway, but he puts the sweater back on the shelf and walks away.   
The separate shelf for their tour t-shirts makes his heart skip a little. He finds only Korean ones, knowing the Japanese shirts are waiting for them in their house in Tokyo. He really can't wait to add some new ones to the collection.

He goes through the whole wardrobe, stopping for a moment here and there when some particular clothes play with his nostalgic mood. He goes through Yunho's pants and socks, his underwear and endless collection of sunglasses, his bags and watches. He pauses for longer when he gets to Yunho's suit collection. Feeling way too desperate to feel silly, he buries his face in them, smelling the expensive fabrics and subtle scent of Yunho that lingers between them like a ghost of the owner. He loves Yunho in suits. Fuck! Who doesn't!? This man was born to wear suits and Changmin was born to appreciate it and exploit it whenever he could.

Done with Yunho's clothes, he goes through his bookshelves and his desk. He's discrete about it, doesn't read what he feels he shouldn't, doesn't peek even when he's tempted. And really, it's not that hard since there's not much that he doesn't know and hasn't seen before, including the most secret thing in Yunho's life, his red notebooks. Yunho was always the one who was sneaking them into Changmin's hands, silently asking him to read some of his thoughts, share his opinion after. But it's a one thing to read such things when you're asked for to, and a totally different thing to do it when the author is not around, so he collects all his papers and notebooks and hides them in the drawer.

Now all he has to do is to deal with the dust balls.

One hour, two full garbage bags and one laundry load later the room is clean and shiny and Changmin sits in the middle of it, breathing hard. He's tired and sweaty, but the strange weight from his chest disappeared somewhere between him cleaning the desk and him finding a small box with all 'to-do' lists he has ever made for Yunho over the years of living together, hidden, god's know why, under Yunho's bed.

'Stupid sentimental sap' He thinks as he dives into Yunho's closet again, looking for something to take away with him. He picks some old shirt he knows Yunho's not wearing anymore but likes too much to throw away. It's worn out and a little too big for him, but it will do. It will do perfectly.

He thinks about staying here the night but before he makes the decision, he decides to finally send the message he has been craving to send for hours. Now he can deal with no reply.

Sitting on the bed, he digs out his phone and types.

'Dude, there are actual dust balls under your bed. Gross.' He sends it with silly satisfaction. Not expecting an answer he jolts when his phone vibrates just a few seconds later.

'when they make a Korean version of the 'perfect housewife', I'll volunteer you to host it first :PPP '

Then comes 'Are u on break? :D'.

'Yeah. And cleaning your fucking room.' He types, actually excited, because all of that means Yunho is probably free now too, it means...

'no one forced you =D. and I'm just eating all the kimchi from your fridge, so guess who is having more fun?'

That makes Changmin jump up off the bed. He dials Yunho number while trying to put his shoes on and runs out of the house with a wildly beating heart.

'Yah! You're in my house?! Don't you dare move!!'

Yunho's warm laughter rings in his head all the way back and welcomes him when he enters his home.


End file.
